1. Statement of the Technical Field
Embodiments include computing systems and methods for updating vehicle behavior and settings based on the locations of passengers within the vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
The uses and applications of computers in vehicles such as automobiles are growing as manufacturers are increasingly including sophisticated vehicle computing systems capable of controlling operational vehicle components, such as environmental control systems, audio and video systems, cruise control and engine power systems, keyless entry and operation systems, heads-up displays, power locks, and seat and steering adjustments. As mobile communications technology has become more widespread, automotive computing systems are available that also include network based applications including navigation, voice search, media streaming capabilities, and the like.
Systems have been introduced to allow for automatic changes in preference settings based on which key is used to operate a vehicle. For example, when the key associated with driver A is inserted, the previous settings for the driver's seat position used by driver A may be imposed. These systems are limited, however, because they only control preferences such as the seat position of the driver seat and generally do not include settings for the passengers in other seats or for other systems subject to preferential control.
Mobile communications devices, such as a mobile phone, a smart phone, a laptop computer, a Personal Digital Assistant (“PDA”), are common in the market place. Smart phones, in particular, have become increasingly powerful both in processing power and in the breadth of utility. Programmed applications have been introduced that expand the functionality of the smart phone. Both mobile communications devices and automotive computing systems increasingly include geographic location or position detection systems, such as a Global Positioning System (“GPS”). The term GPS includes Differential GPS (“DGPS”). In phone and automotive computing applications, the GPS device is often used to provide position information in applications that provide services to a user thereof. Such services can include, but are not limited to, navigation services, location services, position reporting services, traffic status services, tour information services and commerce services.
Mobile communications devices are also often equipped to communicate with other nearby devices, such as by using near field communication (NFC). Thus, by various means, it would be desirable for driver and/or passenger mobile communications devices to communicate with a vehicle computing system, for the vehicle computing system to ascertain which seats are occupied by the driver and/or passengers, and to further control various operational components of the vehicle based on driver/passenger seating. There is a need for systems and methods for updating vehicle behavior and settings in such a manner.